Arizona Just Broke the NCAA's Concussion Policy. Will it Matter?

Dan Diamond
, ContributorI write sharp takes on the health, policy and wonk news of the day.Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 08: Quarterback Matt Scott #10 of the Arizona Wildcats celebrates with teammates following their 59-38 victory over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the college football game at Arizona Stadium on September 8, 2012 in Tucson, Arizona. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Congratulations, University of Arizona. Your football team just scored a big win over USC--partly because your quarterback played through an almost-certain concussion.

To be fair, it was your biggest victory in two whole years. And the NCAA's not going to penalize you, so why protect your player? It's not like we've learned anything about football and head injuries.

Here was the key sequence of events: In the fourth quarter of Saturday's game, Arizona QB Matt Scott was kicked in the head while sliding during a play. Scott immediately began vomiting on the sidelines, repeatedly, as the game went to commercial.

Scott was showing tell-tale signs of concussion, and the NCAA--which is being sued for failing to implement appropriate concussion screening, return-to-play guidelines, and other safety measures--is pretty clear on what coaches should do next: "Take [an athlete] out of play immediately and allow adequate time for evaluation by a health care professional experienced in evaluating for concussion." As one NCAA factsheet reads,

1. Remove the student-athlete from play...Do not allow the student-athlete to just “shake it off.” Each individual athlete will respond to concussions differently. 2. Ensure that the student-athlete is evaluated right away by an appropriate health care professional. 3. Allow the student-athlete to return to play only with permission from a health care professional with experience in evaluating for concussion.

However, well-paid Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez and his staff did none of those things. Instead, Scott stayed in the game--and even threw a touchdown pass--before finally going to the sidelines, apparently vomiting again, and being evaluated by trainers for a head injury. Not surprisingly, once Scott was actually forced to undergo a concussion test, he was immediately removed from the game.

By keeping Scott on the field, Arizona had little to lose, other than the game; the NCAA's concussion policy is toothless and links to some of their head-injury resources don't even appear to be working on their website. (Try clicking on "Behind the Blue Disk: NCAA's Approach to Concussions.")

And despite everything we know about head injuries, the culture of complicity extends to those who cover the sport. I didn't actually watch the game, but was told that the announcers were blasé about Scott playing through his big hit. The initial write-ups on ESPN and elsewhere didn't mention the sequence of events; others even celebrated Scott's toughness. "Arizona Wildcats upset USC Trojans behind Matt Scott's heart," wrote SB Nation's Kevin Zimmerman.

(This isn't an isolated incident. Just a few weeks ago, USC star receiver Robert Woods took a shot to the head in a game vs. Utah, stumbled around the field, and was administered a simple three-question concussion test before being allowed back on the field within minutes. As Utah Jazz announcer David Locke pointed out on Twitter, the two events show that "much of [the] concussion talk is lip service," at least on the college level.)

The NCAA wants to give the impression that it cares about its student-athletes; "Health & Safety" comes before "Championships" on the organization's homepage.

Except, of course, when it's obvious that the NCAA--and one of its most prominent coaches--don't care at all.

Update, 10/28, 1:40 p.m.: Over at Deadspin, Issac Rauch has video of Matt Scott's concussion. It's important to note that after the timeout shown in the video--where Scott goes to the sidelines, still vomiting-- the coaches kept him in the game for several more plays.

Announcers are never afraid to second-guess a coach for calling a passing play instead of a run, or a run instead of a punt. It's sad that Millen and Joe Tessitore couldn't bring the same vigor to questioning a call that put a player's health at risk.

Update, 10/30, 2:30 a.m.: At Monday's press conference, Rodriguez offered additional detail -- although mostly, it was lack of detail -- about the sequence of events on Saturday. The coach refused to specify whether Scott had a concussion test, and if he'd passed it.

However, Rodriguez did explain that when Scott first came to the sidelines after being hit and vomiting, he asked the QB "Are you OK?," with trainers looking on. That was the extent of the initial testing - and when Scott said yes, he stayed in the game.